The crowd may have been sparse for Saturday evening's final table of the World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, but those who were there saw Shawn Buchanon earn his first title and a new nickname.
Shawn Buchanon had been hanging out near the top of the chip leaderboard the entire poker tournament, though he didn't have the lead coming into the final table. Jared Hamby had that honor and it came down to them battling it out for the win.
A critical point in heads-up play came when the blinds were at $20k/$40k with a $5,000 ante. Buchanon made it $130,000 from the button and Hamby re-raised $220,000 more. Play $500 match poker bonus.
Buchanon didn't hesitate to call and the flop came Qs-9h-4h. Hamby bet $410,00 and Buchanon called.
When the turn brought a nine of clubs, Hamby came out firing again with a bet of $600,000. Again without hesitation, Buchanon called. A king of diamonds fell on the river and Hamby checked. Women poker.
Buchanon checked behind him, catching Hamby in a bluff as he said, "No pair."
Buchanon flipped up a pair of threes. Hamby had been playing conservatively most of the final table, but Buchanon had looked him up at just the right time to take down a monster pot. Online poker.
Amazingly, it was crabs again that would give Buchanon the win and possibly the new moniker of Captain Crab. Download poker wallpapers.
The televised final table results were as follows:
Daniel Negreanu announces his participation in EPT Barcelona at the end of August. This is the first time Negreanu plays on the European Poker Tour, which goes into its fourth season.
Negreanu will be joined in Barcelona by other members of Team Poker Stars, such as Greg Raymer, Humberto Brenes and woman poker player Katja Thater.
Of course, being the first player to win titles in all three of the big tournament series - WSOP, WPT and EPT - is a tempting prospect for anyone. Download poker wallpapers.
Negreanu is joined in this pursuit by players like Joe Hachem, Carlos Mortensen and Scotty Nguyen, who all have two of three of these titles.
His best result so far in the big European poker tournaments is a seventh place at the 2003 WPT in Paris.
EPT Barcelona starts on August 28 and plays over five days including two Day 1s and a final table battle set out for September 1. At this writing, with two weeks left, 400 of the 600 places have been filled up. Play $500 match poker bonus.
It's been screened at film festivals around the world, winning an award at the Australian International Film Festival, and now you can get your very own copy of No Limit: A Search for the American Dream on the Poker Tournament Trail, from PokerListings.com.
We are hosting a contest in our poker forums during which fans will have a shot at winning a copy of the award-winning poker documentary.
Called the "mother of poker docs" by the Las Vegas Sun and given a thumbs up from Ebert and Roeper, getting a copy of No Limit is going to be a must for the serious poker fan. There's certainly no better way to get one than by winning a free copy from PokerListings.com. Play online poker.
On Wednesday, Aug. 8, a contest will start in the Forums Section with five different ways to win a copy of the No Limit DVD. The contest wraps up Friday, Aug. 17.
The contest categories are:
1. Best long-time poster
For the best long-time poster, a thread will be created with a list of the long-time, regular posters on it. Then the forum community will get to vote on who they think is the best of them. Play $500 match poker bonus.
2. Best thread
The goal is to create the most interesting and entertaining thread during the contest period. The winner will be chosen by a panel of PokerListings.com employees.
3. Best new poster
Haven't signed up for the forum and started participating in the poker community? Now is the best time to give it a try. New posters who join the community during the contest will be compiled in a forum thread at the end of the contest period. The forum community will then vote on who they think was the best.
4. Best bluff
Show off your online poker face by posting a hand history or screen shot of your best bluff. The stakes don't matter; it's all about having the guts to take down a pot with nothing, or next to nothing. The winner will be selected by a panel of PokerListings.com judges. Download poker wallpapers.
5. Worst beat
You know you've got a bad beat story you've been dying to tell. If you've got a screenshot of your worst beat, post it up in the Bad Beat Forum. If you're entry has the panel of judges cringing and groaning at such a terrible beat, you could be the newest owner of a No Limit DVD as well.
Sharing your stories and poker passions online will get you primed and ready to watch No Limit at home. The documentary follows two single parents as they travel the poker circuit with their young son in search of poker tournament fame and fortune and a way to save their company.
The film follows them through six high-stakes poker tournaments, culminating with a trip to the World Series of Poker.
Along their journey more than 40 poker super stars also are featured in the documentary, including Doyle Brunson, Mike Sexton, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, woman poker champ Annie Duke, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and more.
The folks from Ultimate Poker are going bonkers this weekend offering up fabulous 15% bonus offers and a chance to knock legendary poker pro Phil Hellmuth out of Sunday's poker tournament. But more importantly, join Gambling911.com in Aruba this October for the big Ultimate Bet Aruba Classic Poker Tournament.
15% Reload Bonus Put more chips on the table this weekend with UltimateBets exclusive 15% Reload Bonus. Just make a deposit anytime this Friday and Saturday and well give you an additional 15% in Bonus Dollars absolutely free.
he folks from Ultimate Poker are going bonkers this weekend offering up fabulous 15% bonus offers and a chance to knock legendary poker pro Phil Hellmuth out of Sunday's poker tournament. But more importantly, join Gambling911.com in Aruba this October for the big Ultimate Bet Aruba Classic Poker Tournament.
15% Reload Bonus Put more chips on the table this weekend with UltimateBets exclusive 15% Reload Bonus. Just make a deposit anytime this Friday and Saturday and well give you an additional 15% in Bonus Dollars absolutely free. Online poker.
Better Than a Perfect Ten Were celebrating Phil Hellmuths 11th WSOP bracelet win the only way we know how--with cold hard cash and sweet swag. This August, weve amplified our Sign Up Bonus to a whopping 111%. Now you can earn up to 1,100 Bonus Dollars just for funding your poker account. Get your friends in on the celebration with a rewarding referral offer. Simply refer 11 or more friends before the end of August and well throw $1,100 Bonus Dollars your way. Youll also receive an autographed cap and deck of cards from Phil himself PLUS 11,000 UltimatePoints, which you can exchange for exclusive merchandise or use to enter your favorite tournaments. Get the word out today and clean up eleven times over! Play route 66 poker.
Ultimate Driving Machine Freeroll Realize your fantasy of driving the finest motorcar on the market today, a BMW M5. Seats in the Ultimate Driving Machine Freeroll are already being awarded to players & women poker players, how can you not want to qualify? These ultimate wheels might just have your name on them!
Ultimate Heads Up Smack Down 2 As the first round of the Ultimate Heads Up Smack Down gets underway this Saturday, were readying the brackets for our second tourney. Weve raised the stakes and upped the excitement with double the players and four times the prize money of the electric inaugural event. Nothing will rival the thrill of 128 fierce warriors battling for sheer poker dominance. Play $500 match poker bonus. Win a custom UB heads-up championship ring, huge cash prizes, and a chance to battle Heads Up with Phil Hellmuth for $30,000! Registration begins August 6th.
Full Tilt Poker is pulling its sponsorship of the Moscow Millions to focus on other tournament commitments, the company announced Wednesday.
The poker room said it has decided to "re-evaluate the timing" of sponsoring the Oct. 20-22 event in Russia, citing its full schedule of tournaments this fall and in early 2008.
Already on the agenda for Team Full Tilt are events such as the World Series of Poker Europe, original programming commitments in Great Britain, major sponsorships in Germany and the 2008 Aussie Millions. Play $500 match poker bonus.
"Recognizing the substantial potential of the Moscow Millions and Russia in general, the company has decided to postpone sponsorship to insure complete dedication to the success of the event," Full Tilt said in a statement.
The site has been running qualifiers to the event since early June, offering players & women poker players weekly satellites to win a $15,000 prize package to the televised tournament. Full Tilt pros such as Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Howard Lederer and Erik Seidel were already committed to competing in the Moscow Millions.
The pullout will no doubt be a big blow to the tournament, as Full Tilt Poker is the second largest poker site online and one of the strongest brands in the industry. Strengthening its image is a roster of the world's most renowned poker players, including the Hendon Mob, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen and Allen Cunningham.
The company also features a library of the most extensive original poker programming, which comes from the more than 200 hours of game coverage annually filmed for television networks around the world.
Despite Full Tilt withdrawing sponsorship from the event, the poker tournament is still set to go ahead this fall.
It's a tough act to follow, the World Series of Poker.
But the world's best online poker guide, PokerListings.com, is up to the task, following up its acclaimed 2007 WSOP coverage with two things that will fill the void for poker fans.
First: From Barcelona to the Turks and Caicos on the World Poker Tour. Dublin to the Bahamas on the European Poker Tour. The history-making WSOP Europe. Name the major upcoming live event and a PokerListings player will likely be at the felt, with over $175,000 in new, exclusive PL prize packages now on the table.
Second: Expect even more of the same great coverage seen at the WSOP, with up-to-the-minute live updates, behind-the-scenes scoops and more of the irascible PL wit from continuing live poker tournament reporting around the globe.
"The 2007 World Series of Poker," says Camilla Sundell, press secretary for PokerListings.com, "was, to put it mildly, off the charts. Exhausting and exhilarating all at once, with some of the most gut wrenching beats and high-intrigue poker clashes we've ever seen.
"We're really pleased so many of our players & women poker players got to be a part of it, even though we didn't bring home the big one.
"Thankfully, however, the poker world never stops turning. So we're sending even more of our players around the world with our new satellites, and will bring even more first-rate, wall-to-wall coverage to our readers who can't be there."
Among the new satellite highlights: a $50,000 EPT freeroll at Titan Poker with the winner getting buy-ins and expenses-paid trips to three events of their choice; $25,000+ freerolls for the history-making WSOP Europe at Titan, Pacific Poker, Betfair Poker and Gnuf.com; $12,500 "Winner's Choice" freerolls at Full Tilt Poker for the WPT. And a ton more. Download poker wallpapers.
Among the upcoming PokerListings.com coverage highlights: The WPT Legends of Poker from Los Angeles in August, the inaugural EPT Barcelona Open, and, of course, the WSOP Europe, set to bring the most legendary accessory in poker to foreign soil for the first-time ever.
"We're extremely proud of the job the PokerListings tournament team did at the WSOP," Sundell adds. "From the live updates to the great video interviews to the hilarious blogs, the PL crew brought our readers some of the most surprising stuff of the series.
"The Devilfish trying to seduce one of our reporters, Seinfeld's Jason Alexander… the highlights are too many to mention. Stay tuned to our poker blog for latest updates.
"We hope all our readers can check out our re-caps from the 2007 WSOP on PokerListings.com (www.pokerlistings.com/live-tournaments/wsop), and we'll be back from L.A. on August 25 for more the same."
Actress and aspiring woman poker-pro Shannon Elizabeth was stopped in the door when trying to enter a casino in Australia recently.
Shannon Elizabeth is in Australia to play the 2007 Victorian Poker Championship. The event is taking place June 25 to Aug. 6, with a total of 16 tournaments scheduled to culminate in the three-day $3,000 No-Limit Holdem Main Event. Online poker.
The former actress and model was seen sporting PokerStars.com gear at the 2007 World Series of Poker Tournaments. Her most notable poker accomplishment so far is a third-place finish in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Championship, beating some of the best players in the world.
But she found out the hard way that being a celebrity won't always help you, especially if you are not recognized. Earlier this week she was denied access to the Victorian Poker Championship because she had forgotten her identification.
It did not help that she told the security guard who she was and that she is 33 years old - he refused to let her in without a valid ID. Whether she came back with her ID or not is unknown. Stay tuned to our poker blog for more updates.
The crowd may have been sparse for Saturday evening's final table of the World Poker Tour Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, but those who were there saw Shawn Buchanon earn his first title and a new nickname. 
